Honey, I'm Home
by CleoKat
Summary: An AU where Gray completed the mission ahead of time, and returned a home a week early, which in turn, caused him to return to a feverish Juvia. What happens when he returns to the little cottage he called home?


**Requested By: Hellfire Dragon Knight.**

 **Slight AU, in which Gray comes home from the Avatar mission about a week before Natsu returns.**

Gray's heart pumped wildly with exhilaration in his chest. They had done it. They had defeated Avatar. Nothing could bring his spirits down, especially on a sunny day like this.

They were about to go try and find everyone and reform the guild he had loved and lived in as a child. He was ready to go, except he just had to pack up a few objects from his previous house.

 _Splash._ "What the-" He felt a curtain of rain beat down on him heavily, causing his raven hair to stick damply to his forehead. "What?" Leaning back, he realized that only a portion of the land was raining, the rest was sunshine and blue skies. "Why?" he asked himself.

A sudden thought caused him to pale. "Our village…" he murmured. "Rain… JUVIA!" What happy thoughts that had danced through his head were now replaced with the blue-haired water mage. With renewed energy, he tore through the heavy rain, splattering mud everywhere as he ran towards his previous house.

"Juvia!" he called. No response. He sprinted harder toward the small cottage they called home. A flash of blue hair entered his vision. "Juvia!" She didn't say anything. Worried now, Gray dashed all the way to the bench that she had set up so long ago.

There she sat, rain dripping from the edge of her beloved hat into her glazed blue eyes. "Juvia," he breathed in worry. "Juvia, I'm here." Nothing happened. "Juvia," he repeated. When only the pounding of the rain responded, he took her by the shoulders and pushed her face up. "Juvia, it's me, Gray."

At both the sound of her name, and the sight of his face, the girl blinked. "Gray-sama? No, this is only Juvia's imagination. Gray-sama left Juvia. Juvia remembers. Ah, how silly of Juvia." She went back to her dazed state, causing Gray to notice the sweat beads rolling off her forehead, even in the frigid rain.

"I'm not your imagination. I'm actually here." He drew her gaze back to his once again. "No," Juvia breathed. "No, Gray-sama can't be back. Juvia doesn't believe it… b-but Juvia wants Gray-sama to be back, no, he won't, but maybe-" She trembled in the rain.

Gray moved to take her hands, but before he could, her eyes rolled back into her head, and she dipped forwards in a faint.

Luckily, Gray caught her, and worriedly propped her up again. He took her shaking image in. She had gotten paler, thinner, and the bags under her eyes were a dark purple. Her cheekbones were extremely prominent, and her azure hair that he had loved so much was scraggly and tangled.

"Not good," he muttered. Picking the mage up in his arms, he walked into the cottage they shared. He was shocked at the state of neglect.

Dust covered every available surface, and bugs swarmed crumbs littered on the wooden floors. Gently setting Juvia on the couch, Gray took in the bedraggled state of the house, all except for one room. _His room._

Everything was meticulously cleaned, folded, and organized, except for his bed sheets. Those were tangled and littered across the mattress. He pressed a hand onto one of the blankets. They weren't dusty. In fact, they looked like they'd been used very recently.

Something hit him. Juvia had been sleeping in _his_ bed. His head hurt at the thought of what the water mage might have felt when he had gone without a word. "Juvia…" His mind returned to said girl fainted away on the couch, and he straightened up in alarm.

He returned just in time to see the girl's eyes blinking open. "Gray-sama?" "I'm here, Juvia." "B-but… Gray-sama left Juvia." "But I'm back." Her eyes started to water, and her eyelids started to flutter. "Whoa," he yelped, catching her and laying her down on the couch cushions.

"Stay here, I'll get you some food." "Juvia is fine," the girl protested, but Gray knew that wasn't the case. Against her complaints, he pulled open the fridge and grabbed some assorted vegetables.

Laying them out on the counter, he grabbed a pot and started to whip something up.

…

A few minutes later, two bowls of steaming tomato soup were laid out on the table. Gray grabbed a couple spoons and a tray and brought it all over to Juvia. "Eat up," he commanded.

Juvia frantically shook her head. "No, Gray-sama, Juvia is fine…" She trailed off into a violent fit of coughing. Gray handed her a spoon. "You're not fine. Now do you want to eat this soup, or do I have to feed it to you?"

Juvia reluctantly picked up the spoon and started to eat. Gray noticed that after the first bite, the girl had started eating with speed.

"So you really were hungry," he commented. Juvia looked up with a spoonful of scarlet soup in her mouth. Swallowing, she pushed up her shoulders in a shrugging gesture. "Juvia doesn't know. Juvia wasn't really hungry until you came…"

She chased a vegetable piece around her soup nervously. Gray felt like something was punching his heart repeatedly.

 _Dang, could she stop guilt-tripping him with everything she says?_ Another voice told him to be reasonable. _You left her for almost 6 months. She has the right to be bitter._

"Gray-sama?" Juvia asked, breaking his train of thought. "Mm?" "Juvia is tired now, Juvia will go to sleep." She wearily pushed herself up from the couch and tottered off in the direction that Gray knew was her bedroom.

"Don't you normally sleep there?" he called, pointing to his old room. Juvia whirled around, blushing. "Ah, yes, but now that Gray-sama is back, he should have his own room back." Gray shook his head. "Sleep wherever that makes you comfortable. If that may be my bed, so be it."

With his approval, the blue-haired mage turned and entered the other room. Gray could hear her tugging on the sheets and getting comfortable. '

 _Well,_ he thought, _If she's going to sleep, I might as well._ He rolled over on the couch, adjusting the cushions accordingly. He dozed off to the crashing of the rain outside.

…

While he might have gone to sleep to the sound of the rain, he woke up to the sound of tears. They were coming from his room. Alarmed, he got up and pulled open the door.

Juvia lay on the bed, squirming, whimpering, and crying. "Gray-sama," he heard her cry, "Don't leave Juvia, please, please," she begged.

Gray flinched as he heard his name being called like torture. He gently tested one foot against the springy bed, and then pulled the rest of him up. As if feeling the pressure, Juvia blinked her watery eyes open.

"Ah, just a nightmare, don't worry, Gray-sama." Even in that dismissive tone, Gray could tell something was up. Tears still leaked from her eyes. He grabbed her hands and started tracing little patterns with his thumb.

"That's a lie," he declared. "I can't not worry. You were having a nightmare, Juvia. What was it about?" The girl broke down sobbing. "It… was… about," she choked. "… Gray-sama leaving Juvia… again… but this time Gray-sama didn't come back."

He grimaced. "Look, I'm here now, aren't I?" She nodded slowly. "If it makes you feel better, Juvia, I'll stay here with you." "Gray-sama doesn't have to…"

"Don't give me any of that 'I don't need to'. You're sick, and I'm trying to take care of you." Juvia nodded reluctantly, and curled up in his arms. He gently stroked the curve of her back.

After a few moments of silence, she turned and looked into his eyes. "Gray-sama, Juvia missed you." "Yeah," he agreed, "I missed you too."

No more words passed between them, but enough was said. As if thinking as one, both leaned toward each other and pressed their lips together.

What was lost between them, what was missed, what needed to happen, all the worries and pain were poured into that kiss. When they finally broke apart, Juvia smiled weakly.

"Juvia loves you, Gray-sama."

"I know. I love you too."

Silence.

"Good night, Gray-sama."

"Good night, Juvia."

 **Wow! That was actually pretty good. I kind of liked it! Today, though, instead of notes, I have a few apologies. Sorry to Hellfire Dragon Knight, who I kind of messed up the plot of your ideas, and sorry for making it so short. Sorry to those who have requested my AU oneshots. I promise I'm working on them, I just needed a break, and this was something I wanted to try.**

 **But hey, though, what did you think of this chapter? I had a lot of fun with this. Tell me in a review, please!**

 **…**

 **Smile, Sparkle, and Stay Strong! ~ CleoKat**


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